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Den Den's Dunnies

Tuesday, 27 November 2007

Ok here's a story, which might sound funny but is actually serious at the same time. It's about Den Den the dunny man. United Nations figures show 2.6 billion people don't have proper toilets or water facilities. That means disease can spread really easily and cause huge problems. But in a part of Indonesia, Den Den is coming to the rescue! Sarah sniffed out the story.

Presented by Sarah Larsen (episode 34)

The noble toilet... the distinguished dunny, the great John....

Ok, Ok... so maybe you don't get that excited about the loo but maybe you should!

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: There's actually an international day of the toilet and no, it isn't a day for you to sit around and marvel at your throne, it's there to recognise a serious issue.

In developing countries all around the world there are millions of people with no access to a toilet.

In fact, 40 percent of the world's population is loo-less.

And that can cause serious problems.

People often have makeshift toilets which are too close to their drinking water... if that gets contaminated it can cause serious diseases.

Every year 4 million people die from diseases associated with contaminated water

This is Simeulue, a small island off Sumatra in Indonesia. It was devastated in the 2004 tsunami, then by a massive earthquake. Lots of the people here are still rebuilding and lots don't have proper toilets.

That's where Den Den comes in. He's a toilet builder, and around here he's a bit of a hero.

Den Den, or Denny to his friends, has built hundreds of toilets for locals.

And as you can see, they're pretty proud of their new loos.

Now they're learning how to look after it.

INDONESIAN RED CROSS SPOKESPERSON: We are, we easy to explain to them how to clean this latrine and then how they can maintain it properly, showing them how to make it, the latrine clean.

Denni's got a big job on his hands. He's trying to build around 1,300 loos by 2008.

For many of these people it's a huge step towards a better life. And its all thanks to Denny and his dunnies.